The present invention relates to a harness system that can be used in conjunction with so-called "climbing" tree stands. Many people hunt from temporary perches in trees commonly known as tree stands. Tree stands are made in a variety of ways. For example, they can be made by an individual hunter in his home workshop to suit his own purposes or needs, or they may be commercially manufactured. "Climbing" tree stands, which are described in detail below, are a popular style of commercially manufactured tree stand presently available on the market. The invention described in this document is a harness system that maximizes the utility of climbing tree stands in a number of ways.
It is important to understand climbing tree stands in order to fully appreciate the need for the invention. Climbing tree stands are easily portable tree stands that typically have two main parts: an upper part and a lower part. In use, the upper part of a climbing tree stand is attached around the trunk of a tree. The lower part of the climbing tree stand is attached around the trunk of the same tree at a point on the trunk that is lower than the upper part. The hunter can then stand on the lower part of the tree stand, attach his feet to the lower part, and then grasp the upper part with his hands. By use of his hands and upper body strength, the hunter can place his body weight on the upper part of the stand and, at the same time, use his feet to draw the lower part of the stand up the trunk of the tree. After the lower part of the stand has been drawn several inches (or even feet) up the trunk of the tree, the hunter can then transfer his body weight to his feet (which are then resting on the lower part of the tree stand). The hunter can then slide the upper part of the tree stand farther up the trunk of the tree with his hands. The hunter can repeat the process over and over, first drawing the lower part of the stand up with his feet and then inching the upper part of the stand higher on the trunk of the tree with his hands. In this way a hunter can quickly climb a tree. When the hunter reaches an appropriate height, he can sit in the upper part of the stand and hunt. To descend the tree trunk, the hunter reverses the procedure that was used to climb the tree.
Traditionally, a user of a tree stand who desires to attach himself to a tree he is climbing uses a strap. These straps have a loop at either end. The loop at one end is large and the loop at the other end is small. The user of such a traditionally-styled strap first wraps the strap around the tree. The end of the strap having the large loop is then passed through the small loop and the strap is then cinched against the tree. The hunter then places the large loop over his head and around his chest, with the large loop both encircling his chest and being placed under his armpits. Should the hunter fall from the tree stand, the strap is tightened against both the tree and around the chest of the hunter, thereby preventing and/or lessening the severity of a fall.
Such straps, however, have significant shortcomings. Traditionally-styled straps must be attached to a user and to a tree in a cumbersome process of slipping and sliding loops over each other, around the tree and around the hunter. Such can only be done in the field, at the site of the tree that the hunter desires to climb. As a result, the hunter must detach and re-attach a traditionally-styled strap to himself and to each tree he desires to climb. Since traditionally-styled straps cannot be left attached to a hunter's clothing, the hunter must also pay particular attention to the transportation and storage of these straps so that they do not pick up any unwanted (i.e., human) scents. Also, when used as described herein, these traditionally-styled straps can seriously compress a hunter's chest and/or abdomen during a fall. Additionally, these straps can place the back of a user against a tree after a fall, potentially trapping the user and thereby preventing the user from re-climbing the tree and re-mounting the tree stand and/or preventing the hunter from disengaging himself from the strap.
Additionally, and most importantly, when cinched against a tree, these straps are designed to exert a significant amount of frictional resistance against the tree trunk. Frictional resistance of the strap against the tree trunk is critical in preventing a user from sliding down the trunk of a tree following a fall. However, a significant drawback of these devices is that their design requires that they must exert friction against the tree trunk while the user is climbing the tree. As a result, a user that desires to employ a traditionally-styled strap when climbing a tree must loosen the strap from around the tree, slide the strap up the tree trunk several inches, and then tighten the strap. The user then climbs the tree up to the point at which the strap is attached to the tree trunk. The user then loosens the strap and slides the strap up the tree trunk several inches. The user then tightens the strap. The user can then climb the tree trunk up to the point at which the strap is attached to the tree trunk, repeating the process until the tree is climbed. This is a very arduous. Furthermore, traditionally-styled straps often inconveniently slide down the trunks of trees before the hunter has climbed to the next adjusting position. As a result, many hunters do not use traditionally-styled straps when climbing trees. If hunters do not use traditionally-styled straps when climbing trees, they are also less likely to use the straps when seated on a tree stand.
As a result, there is a need for a harness system that enables a person to wear a harness while climbing, sitting in, and descending a tree. Additionally, there is a need for a harness that is easily wearable by a user while walking to and from a tree stand site, as well as a need for a harness system that can be left attached to the specially scented hunting clothes hunters normally use. Furthermore, there is the need for a harness that is less likely to compress the abdomen and/or chest of a user than is otherwise common with traditionally-styled harnesses. Also, there is a need for a harness that reduces the likelihood of positioning a user with his or her back against a tree.